Rotary engine.



"0. 703,679. Patented July I, I902. 6.. TUCKFIELU.

, ROTARY ENGINE. (Application filed Nov. 15, 1901.) (No Model.) 2Sheets-Sheet l.

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No. 703,679. Patented July I,' I902.

C. TUCKFIELD. ROTARY ENGINE.

' (Application file'd Nov. 15, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

UNITED STATES CHARLES TUOKFIELD, OF EAST MOLESEY, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR OFT'WO- THIRDS TO DYSON WESTON, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N 0. 703,679, dated July 1,1902.

Application filed November 15,1901. Serial No. 82,389.- (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES TUOKFIELD,

a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 12 PalaceOrescent,East Molesey, Surrey, England, have invented'new and usefulImprovements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in rotary engines.

According to the invention I provide a casing having a circular recessin which is fitted a disk keyed upon a shaft or spindle rotatablymounted inthe casing. The disk is provided with one or more annulargrooves upon I 5 both of its lateral faces, the said groove or groovesbeing, however, stopped at one or more points. In conjunction with eachgroove there is arranged a sliding abutment which is held in a recess inthe casing and is caused to project into the groove by suitable means,such as by spring-pressure. Steam inlet and exhaust ports are providedon either side of the sliding abutment, and when steam is admitted itexerts pressure upon the stop in the 2 5 groove andthe sliding abutmentand rotates thedisk in the circular recess.

My invention is applicable to high-pressure motors and also to compoundengines.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly insection, of a highpressure rotary motor made accordingto the invention.Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line, 2 2, Fig. 1; line 3 3,Fig. 1. Fig. .tis an elevation of the disk. Fig. 5 is a developedsection on the line 5 5, Fig. 4:. Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation ofacompound rotary motor made according to the invention. Fig. 7 is asection on the line 7 7, Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is asection on the. Fig. 9 is anelevation ofthe line 8 8, Fig. 6.

disk. Fig. 10 is a view of a modified detail.

Referring first to the motor illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, ais thecasing, having thecircular recess a, and b is the disk which fits in thesaid recess a and is keyed upon the shaft or spindle c, rotatablymounted in the casing a.

disthe annular groove which is formed in each face of the disk, andc isthe stop which go is provided in the groove, the said stop not havingits sides perpendicular to. the bottom Fig. 3 is a section on the ofthegroove, but inclined or gradually sloping toward the said bottom, asshown at e e, Figs. 4 and 5. 1

fis the' abutment provided in connection ,'5

-with each'grooved, the said abutment being housed in a recess f in thecasingaand having a stenrf which passes through a stuffingbox 9 in thesaid casing. Each abutment is held projecting into its grooved by aspring f coiled around its stem f the said spring bearing atone endagainst the outer end of the abutment and at the other end against thestuffing-box g, as shown in Fig. 2.

72 h are the steam-inlet ports, and i i the steam-exhaust ports, thelatter of which open directly into the grooves d. The inlet-ports itopen into the circular recess a in the easing, and each port can bebrought into communicationwith its groove by means of the recess j,formed in the central solid part of the disk I). This recess j is formedconcentrically with the shaft and at the same distance from the centerthereof as the point at which the port h opens into the recess a,whereby as the disk rotates steam can flow I into the recessj and thencethrough a hole j into the groove pl between the stop e and theslidingabutment f.

The operation of the motor is as follows: Assume the disk I) to be inthe position shown in the drawings. A recess j is just uncoveringtheinlet-port 7% on each face of the disk, so that steam enters each grooved, as shown by the arrowl, Fig. 1, between the stop e and the slidingabutment f, thereby causing the diskto rotate As the disk'rotates therear ends of the recesses j j cut off the steam admission and the diskis driven by the expansion of the steam, which escapes through the ports1 t', as shown by the arrow 2, as soon as the stop 6 has passed theopening of this port. The motor shown in Figs. 6 to 9 is similar to thatabove described, but is compound,

the steam exhausting from the grooves 01 d .into larger grooves Z Z,concentric with the grooves d d, and provided with stops Z Z.

Furthermore, in the arrangement illustrated the admissionof steam isnot-cut 0E to the inner grooves d d, as above described, the mo ports hh opening directly into these grooves.

The exhaust-openings it from the grooves d (1 form the inlet-ports forthe grooves Z Z, which are provided with exhaust-ports m m in the casinga. The steam takes the course shown by the arrows, Fig. 6-that is tosay, it first enters the groove (1, acts against the stops e e, andforces around the disk I), escapes through the port 2', enters thegroove Z, acts against the stops Z Z, and finally escapes through theports on m. The sliding abutments are in this case shown held in thegrooves by the pressure of steam behind them instead of by springs, thesteam being supplied by the passages n n. In this arrangement I haveshown packing-rings o o pressed against the faces of the disk I) bysprings 19 p to prevent escape of steam from the grooves d and Z.

Instead of employing steam -pressure to hold the abutments ff in thegrooves 01 andl I can connect their stems together by levers q q, asshown in Fig. 10, the levers being fulcrumed to pillars r r on thecasing a. The grooves d andl are also made of the same depth, and theinclines e e' extend nearly one hundred and eighty degrees, so that themachines in one groove act upon the abutment therein to force theabutment in the other groove into contact with the bottom thereof.

Although I have in the above description described the grooves as formedin the disk and the sliding abutments as held in the casing, it will beclear that this arrangement can be reversed, the grooves being made inthe casing and the sliding abutments being held in the disk.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is 1. In a rotary engine, the combination with a casingprovided with a circular recess, of a disk located in said recess, ashaft secured to said disk, said disk being provided on a lateral face,with an annular groove, decreasing gradually in radial diameter from theface of the disk, and a stop in said groove, having an inclined faceextending from the face of the disk to the bottom of said groove, and asliding abutment mounted in the casing and fittingsaid groove,substantially as described.

2. In a rotary engine, the combination with the casing provided with acircular recess and inlet and exhaust ports, of a rotary disk mountedtherein and havinga lateral face provided with an annular groove, a stoplocated in said groove, a cut-off recess communicating with said groove,and constructed to com- 1n unicate with the inletport and a slidingabutment mounted in said casing and fitting said groove, substantiallyas described.

3. In a rotary engine, the combination With the casing provided with acircular recess and inlet and exhaust ports, of a rotary disk mountedtherein and having a lateral face provided with an annular groove, astop located in said groove, a cut-off recess located in the hub of saiddisk, communicating with the said groove, and constructed to communicatewith the inlet-port, and a sliding abutment mounted in said casing andfitting said groove, substantially as described.

4. In a rotary engine, the combination with the casin g provided with acircular recess and inlet and exhaust ports, of a rotary disk mountedtherein and having its lateral faces provided each with an annulargroove tapering gradually from the face of the disk to the bottom of therecess, a stop located in each groove and provided on each side with aninclined face extending from the lateral face of the disk to the bottomof the recess, and sliding abutments mounted in the casing and fittingsaid grooves, substantially as described.

OHARLES TUOKFIELD.

Witnesses:

O. G. REDFERN, A. ALBUTT.

